Thank You
by Senwich
Summary: He cursed the way she spoke those two words in a way that made them burn inside of him and made him unable to forget the debt he owed her for saving his life yet again. Thank you. [Deidara x Sakura]
1. Chapter 1

**Senko:** Hello, hello everyone! One day, I read manga and Deidara died -.-; and I was so devastated...shocked...heartbroken...depressed...so what is the solution? I write a story in which he survives T.T

**Disclaimer:** Me no own. Duh.

**Summary:** An almost dead Deidara is found by Sakura and she saves him. [DeiSaku

**A/N:** In this story, the big BOOM! thing is _not_ Deidara using the technique in which his body blows up, alright? Let's say he used a powerful clay explosion technique but he did _not _die.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_**BOOM!**_

Sakura instantly turned to the direction of the noise, startled by it. The sky was lit up with a bright light and Sakura almost had to shield her eyes from it.

"Lets go see what it is!" one of the two dogs accompanying her suggested.

The three of them dashed towards the source of the explosion and were led into a clear opening. The dogs went up and sniffed around while Sakura walked slowly behind them. It seems she is the first of their team to have arrived.

She studied her surroundings and then started to walk away in from the dogs.

"Sakura-chan! Where you headed for?" one of the dogs called out.

Sakura looked back at the dogs and gave a small smile and answered them before walking off. "I'm going to look around, don't worry I'll be right back."

Perhaps she could find something valuable.

* * *

Deidara stumbled against a branch and fell in front of a tree trunk. Struggling, he crawled himself to the tree and leaned against it. 

He inwardly cursed the younger Uchiha. He felt like dying so much at this moment. The pain from it was overwhelming. He wondered if he had just died then it would be better because he wouldn't have to feel this pain.

He was hurt badly, very badly. He was bleeding all over the place and striving to not faint. Wait, why was he trying to stay awake again? He confused himself so much. He should just give up trying to survive and just die right there.

Firstly, there was the physical pain. Then there was the second pain...the mental pain, sort of. It was more like mental anger, frustration that he was unable to kill Sasuke, frustration that he should just use his secret technique to take Sasuke down with him.

His right shoulder burned and he brought his left hand up to it, clutching it. He was bloody all over.

Crack

He jolted his head up to see a familiar figure just a good distance away from him. He remembered her, yes. Why wouldn't he? The person who killed Sasori.

His main goal was, as Akatsuki orders were, to seal up the jinchuurikis. Then just moments ago, he came up with another goal – the goal of killing Sasuke. Then third...

...his third was...

The pink-haired kunoichi stood there like a statue, simply staring at him with her bright emerald eyes.

...to avenge Sasori's death.

* * *

Sakura was shocked to find the Akatsuki member there, leaning against a tree almost dead. She had remembered him very well. He was Deidara, the one who had killed Gaara but luckily they were able to bring Gaara back. 

The stench of blood filled her nose and she pondered what to do. He was weakened like this...this would be the perfect opportunity to go up there and take his life.

Her thoughts stopped all of a sudden right there.

No...she couldn't bring herself to kill the injured. After all she was a medic-nin and medic-nins do not purposely kill the injured.

She turned around, about to walk away but stopped after taking a step.

So she didn't have to go up there and kill him while he's hurt. She could just simply walk away and chances are that he would die from blood loss or something. Yes, that way she wouldn't exactly be betraying the Leaf.

Then why was it that she couldn't take another step further? That she still stood in that same spot unable to advance farther?

She shifted her head slightly to her side so she could see his weakened form from the corner of her eye.

She also couldn't bring herself to leave the injured like this. After all she was a medic-nin and medic-nins not only try to avoid killing the injured but also heal them...right?

She lost control her legs and found herself slowly walking to him. Once she was in front of him, she knelt down and lowered herself to eye level with him.

His head shot up and sent her a glare, causing her to tense a little.

She gulped and then exhaled deeply before she gathered the chakra into her hands and spoke softly, "You have many wounds...let me..."

She couldn't finish the sentence. Instead, she quickly noticed a deep gash across his chest and placed her hand over it, her green chakra flowing into his flesh. There was a moment of silence between the two before it was broken by Deidara's chuckle.

"Are you seriously a medic-nin from Konoha, yeah?" he asked.

She waited a few seconds before answering. "Yes..."

"How stupid, yeah...healing your enemy," he whispered.

Once she had stopped the bleeding from his shoulder, she figured she had done enough. He had various other wounds, cuts here and there. She stood up.

"I...I healed one of your major wounds...there is..." she found herself speaking like Hinata and her inner self screamed at her to stay strong and speak confidently. "There is no guarantee you'll live. You _might_ survive if you get proper treatment in time..."

Her sentence drifted into nothing and she stood there for a few more seconds until she fully realized that she had just healed an Akatsuki member, even if not fully. Then she turned around to leave but stopped as she heard two words from him.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Then she quickly ran off.

* * *

"Where is Sakura-chan!" Naruto repeatedly screamed as he paced around. His teammates waited patiently, in contrast to him. 

"Ah...d-don't worry, Naruto-kun," Hinata spoke out softly. "I'm sure she'll be back shortly..."

"Yeah," agreed one of the dogs that had been accompanying Sakura. "You're thinking too much, blondie. I can smell her scent getting stronger; she must be coming back."

That statement seemed to calm Naruto down and he stopped his yelling. Just as the dog had said, Sakura returned a few minutes later to receive a tight embrace from Naruto. Her reaction, though, was simply a punch towards him and she argued that he didn't have enough faith in her.

"Where did you head off to, Sakura?" Kakashi asked, his eyes never leaving the book in front of his face.

"Ah, I got here before all of you so I decided to walk around and see if I could find anything," she answered.

"And did you find anything?"

"No," she stated. It wasn't a lie...no, of course not! After all...she had only healed one of Deidara's biggest injuries: the wound on his chest. She calculated he would be able to survive only a few hours before he dies from blood loss from the many other deep injuries. Therefore, it would pointless to mention it to them...right?

_'If that is so, why not tell Kakashi-sensei?'_ her inner self questioned._ 'We could all go there and they wouldn't even know you healed one of his wounds. We can take him back to the Leaf for interrogation or...or they can kill him!'_

Sakura had to quietly admit to herself that her inner voice was indeed making a lot of sense. She had left him just enough to survive a bit longer and she doubted he could even move from that spot. Therefore, in the end he would die anyway. There was no point in leading Kakashi-sensei and the others to him now. Besides...

_'Besides?'_ that same inner voice asked her.

Sakura sighed before replying to herself, _'Besides, it's true they won't know that I healed him. But what if I tell them where he is now and he tells them I healed him. I'd be in seriously big trouble for healing an Akatsuki member!'_

Her inner self had lost the mental battle.

* * *

_'How stupid...'_

Those two lines repeated itself within Deidara's mind. Things had been indeed 'stupid.'

First, it was stupid that he couldn't defeat the younger Uchiha. Then it was stupid that he had to be left almost dead after the fight. He had planned to use_ it_...to turn his own body into a bomb that would most definately take the Uchiha down with him. However...it was stupid that he had to stop and lean against that tree so the medic-nin found him. Then it was stupid that she would heal him only enough to live for another few hours or so. It was stupid that Tobi had fled...and finally it was stupid for him to thank her allowing him to live just a little longer.

Why had he said it...those two words? _'Thank you.'_

Sure, he was Akatsuki and he was seen as a cold-hearted and dangerous murderer. But all Akatsuki was born human and his mother did teach him manners.

A part of him swore the next time he saw her, things would be different. Not only would he avenge Sasori's death but also show her that as a shinobi passion and generousity would only lead to her downfall.

Yes, he swore it...and he would carry it out if he could survive.

Then again another part of him felt in debt. If he survived, perhaps he should repay her for saving him.

Perhaps.

A rustling noise came from the bushes nearby, causing Deidara to break out of his thoughts. His eyes shifted to where the noise came from and watched as his Akatsuki partner emerged.

A small smirk crept onto his face. At times like this, he was glad Tobi was his partner.

"Deidara-sempai! You're alive!" Tobi exclaimed, rushing up to weak Deidara that was still leaning against the tree. "Oh, no! You're all beat up and bloody! What to do, what to do?"

Deidara sighed annoyed. "Just shut up, Tobi, yeah. Get me out of here."

* * *

"Sakura?" the door to her room opened and Sakura turned to it to see her mother standing there. "Are you leaving now?" 

Sakura returned to her packing. "Right after I finish packing, Mom."

"Alright, then. Have fun and be safe," her mother said before walking away.

They had returned to the Leaf a few days ago and Sakura had not spoken of what she did. She believed the Akatsuki member should have died by now. At first, she lied in bed contemplating what she had done. She wondered...what if that small chance he'd be saved actually happened? What if he attacks the Leaf? What if it was her fault she saved a life so that that life could go on to end other lives?

However, she had learned to block out those thoughts and told herself he must be dead already.

So here she was, in her room packing. No, it wasn't another mission. She was actually packing for a slumber party. It was evening already and earlier that afternoon, Ino had invited her and the other girls for a sleepover. She hadn't known why Ino would do this since Ino never did this before. However, she supposed she should go since her days consisted mostly of healing at the hospital and now only missions allowed her to spend time with the other kunoichis.

When she reached Ino's place, she was lead up to Ino's room where Hinata and TenTen awaited.

"Behold! The huge forehead has finally arrived!" Ino exclaimed as Sakura entered Ino's room.

Sakura glowered at the blond girl. "Yes, and I was unfortunately greeted by an overweight pig."

Ino's room was much like hers, except more girly. It smelled like perfume and Sakura guessed it must be due to the makeup and perfume Ino used. Her bedsheets and curtains were a nice shade of lavender and she had beautifully arranged flowers here and there. A small part of Sakura was envious that she was too busy to do that kind of thing now.

"Alrighty!" Ino chirped. "Let's have some fun!"

Sakura had to admit it was fun, yet at the same time she felt something odd about it. Although Ino and her were best friends, they never hung out like this before.

The girls played many games, including truth or dare. Then Ino had insulted Sakura's looks and decided that she would dress up everyone. She made Hinata wear a cute, frilly light-blue top. TenTen wore a pink tank top and Ino wore a lavender tube top. Finally, there was Sakura and she was made to wear a white halter top.

Ino didn't stop yet. She went even further by applying make up to the girls. Hinata was hesitant at first, since she had never worn makeup before and wasn't sure about it. The only time Sakura would wear makeup was during an event, perhaps a festival. Due to her lack of knowledge in makeup, the furthest she would go was lip gloss.

She was amazed when Ino had finished her makeup and slipped a pretty cherry blossom clip through her hair. She had to admit to herself that she looked astounding, but of course Ino had made TenTen and Hinata just as beautiful. This was something that Sakura was envious of, the way Ino could remain a strong kunoichi yet at the same time be so experienced as a normal girl. For Sakura, she barely had any time free since she would always be busy at the hospital or helping Tsunade with paperworks.

"OH!" Ino exclaimed all of a sudden, catching everyone's attention. "Let's take a picture!"

And she gathered the four of them and held the camera in front of them. A flash went off.

When it was past midnight, Ino had decided they should sleep since, as shinobi, they never really had a scheduled day off. Moments after lying down, Sakura found herself unable to sleep. She could hear Hinata and TenTen's breathing and she was sure they had fallen asleep. However, when she sat up she noticed Ino standing in front of the window.

"Ino?" She called out quietly.

Ino turned to look at her. "Ah, Sakura. You're not asleep?"

Sakura nodded, a hidden smile crept onto her face as she noted that Ino had called her by her name. "I guess...yeah."

She sense Ino smiling. "Had too much fun at my awesome slumber party, huh?"

"Right, whatever," Sakura said, flopping back down. "Ino...a slumber party? You never did that before."

There was a moment of silence before she heard the blond girl's voice. "Yeah...I guess...after Asuma-sensei passed away...I realized that as shinobi we can die anytime. I thought I should spend as much time as I can with you guys because I...I can lose you anytime."

Sakura could hear Ino's voice breaking. "I-Ino...I never thought..."

Ino continued on, breaking off Sakura's sentence. "I thought that when I became a kunoichi, I would be protecting those that I love. I would fight for them and always keep them safe. But...but that's only half of it. The other half, I must fight back and kill. It was my goal to be a strong kunoichi...but it's my dream to have a long lasting love.

"With a life like this, I fear to love anyone because I might die. Who knows, Sakura...what if tomorrow is the last day for one of us? What if one of use decides to leave the Leaf like Sasuke did? And then what if we would have to fight against each other? What if...so many what if's...so many of them..."

Sakura only kept silent as she listened to Ino's quiet sobs and she was thankful that Ino quickly stopped it. She hadn't thought of it that way. She supposed when she was with Team Seven, life was so much easier. The missions back then were so simple yet she was like Naruto and wanted something more challenging. Now, she wished she could go back to that time and lived when it was simpler.

"Ino..." she began and forced a smile on her face. "Don't worry. I would never let you be the one to take my life...I would never leave the Leaf."

Again the silence filled the room and only Hinata and TenTen's breathing echoed. Without knowing what to say, Ino said the two words she could only think of.

"Thank you."

* * *

Sakura yawned. 

She had been at the hospital for only an hour or so before she was called to see the Hokage. Tsunade then informed her that she would be going on a mission.

Tsunade had said that the mission wouldn't be too difficult. With what was happening with Akatsuki and Sasuke, Tsunade had to assign many shinobis to do other things like patrolling the border of the Fire Country and keeping watch in case of attacks.

The mission was to escort a family who was moving out of Konohagakure into a smaller town on the other side of the Fire Country. The family felt the need to hire shinobis to fight off thieves or bandits in case they are ambushed. It would be no problem. So now Sakura had packed up her belongings and waited at the gate of Konoha for her team.

The family was there beside her. Sakura knew they were a completely innocent family, a happy one…one that did not know the bloodshed that a shinobi knew. The parents were middle-aged and loving, both possessing dark hair. They had two children: one was a little girl perhaps around ten years old and the other was a boy around five or six years old.

It was boring and she felt tired.

"Forehead!" a voice called out.

Sakura turned to see her best friend running up to her, Hinata and Kiba following behind her. "You guys are late!"

"Sorry, sorry," Kiba said. "Blame it on Ino."

"Alright, let's just hurry up and get moving," Sakura said, stepping out of the gate and out of Konoha.

Ino rushed to her side. "So, how's it feel being leader of a mission for once?"

Sakura put on a pondering face. "I don't know…scary, I guess."

"Scary?" Ino laughed.

Sakura sighed. "Well, I have to make sure that if anything does happen during the mission that I keep all you guys alive."

Ino smiled before taking out a wallet sized image and handing it to Sakura. "Here ya go."

Sakura took it and realized it was the photo they had taken yesterday during Ino's slumber party. "Oh."

"We were late because I just had to get the picture developed and give each one of you a copy!" Ino beamed.

Sakura smiled at the cheerful blond girl. "I suppose sometimes you actually do other things than being a pig."

Ino gave her a glare but her anger quickly faded. "Sakura."

Sakura glanced at her. "Hm?"

Ino gave her a gentle smile. "I want you to keep that picture safe with you and someday, when you meet the man of your life…the one who you are sure you will definitely love forever no matter what…I want you to give him that picture."

Sakura's gaze shifted down to the small photo in her hands and a small smile crept onto her cream face before she slipped the picture inside her weapon pouch. "Thank you."

Her one true love...

As they walked on, Sakura anticipated the day Sasuke would return to the Leaf so she could hand him the photo.

* * *

**Senko:** How's that :D please review and tell me if you like it ;O 

I've actually had this story in mind since the moment Deidara died -tears- and I typed up the first chapter, but I didn't want to post it up until I was sure that I will finish this story. And I'm sure I will finish this! You know why? Because I planned it out! And when I say plan it out, I mean plan out what each person will do and say and what will happen in every single chapter xD and it's saved onto my comp ;3 yepperz. I did that cause school started :( this way I'd stop daydreaming too much in class LoL

I was actually going to end the chapter when Tobi found Deidara, but I decided to extend it and include the picture part because it _will _show up later in the story :P


	2. Chapter 2

**Senko:** Hello, hello, everyone :D

**neon kun: **LOL you know what, I have a SasorixSakura too o.o; I typed up the first chapter but I'm just not posting it up until I plan it out to the ending XD

Thanks a ton to **sweet-taboos, Nekory-Sama, Delacie, kikia-kiwi, XxDeidara's-little-stalkerx..., AkatsukiFerret, **and **Inu Keifer** for reviewing.

**Disclaimer:** Me no own. Duh.

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Chapter 2

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"Deidara-sempaiiii!" Tobi called out, running to catch up with Deidara. 

The blonde S-class criminal grunted in annoyance before turning to the Akatsuki with a mask and yelling, "Shut up, Tobi! You're supposed to be quiet for a freaking shinobi, yeah!"

Tobi had finally caught up with his partner and walked beside Deidara. "But Deidara-sempai, it's only been a few days since your fight with the Uchiha boy! You shouldn't be walking around yet since you're not fully healed!"

"I know what I'm doing, so just shut up and mind your own business, yeah!" Deidara quickened his pace and left Tobi a few steps behind. "You do want to be a good boy, right?"

Tobi's steps slowed to show he wouldn't be trying to follow Deidara. "Yes, Tobi is a good boy."

"Okay, then wait for me at the next town and stop bothering me so I can finish my next mission quickly."

* * *

Sakura sighed, walking alongside the family as a horse pulled along a wagon with the family's belongings. She walked up front while Ino and Hinata walked on the sides and Kiba followed behind. 

Truth be told she wasn't enjoying this mission and inside of her, her inner self was wishing they were still back at Konoha Hospital. It wasn't exactly that she was overestimating herself, but she knew from the given information on the mission that the family they were escorting was a simple one. The family had no history of being threatened or hated so a surprise ambush was unlikely. The most that could happen would be encountering random bandits, but Sakura knew that ninjas were more skilled and her team would emerge victorious in such a battle.

Such a mission was perfect for someone at her level, though, but it was the fact that she knew it would be boring that she wished she was back at the hospital. At least at the hospital, every once in a while she knew that she saved a life and touched the lives of many as she continued to save more lives.

Saving lives...

Her mind drifted off to a certain blonde Akatsuki member that she had saved about a week ago. She had loved the idea of being able to save lives, but ever since that day she saved him her passion for it began to fade. She supposed it was because she felt she was tainted now. Her original goal of being strong under Tsunade's tutelage lead to her desire to save lives. Now her yearning to saving lives became so intense she'd even heal her enemy.

Her inner self screamed at her, saying she should have told Kakashi and the rest where the Akatsuki member was. Better yet, she shouldn't have even healed him in the first place.

Sakura shook her head, mentally yelling at her inner self to cease talking. She was worrying about something ridiculous. That guy was sure to be dead now!

"Hey, Sakura, can we stop? I think Akamaru needs to pee," Kiba called out from the back.

Sakura looked back with a frown, about to answer 'no' since she knew Akamaru had just taken a potty break and she wanted to finish this mission as soon as possible so that she could head back to Konoha. However, she couldn't find it in herself to be mean to that cute puppy face of Akamaru's. Her attempt at a frown flipped upside down into a smile. "Yeah, sure. You know what, let's stop and take a rest."

The group came to a small opening and halted. Sakura watched as the two kids of the family's enthusiastically chased each other around. She realized the only time she ever chased anyone around was when she was trying to beat up Naruto for being perverted. When she was young she had no friends to run around with and Ino had never played such games with Sakura.

"Oh, Sakura," Kiba called out, sitting on the grass with his legs crossed and Akamaru rested on his lap. "Akamaru smells a water source nearby. Can I go and refill my water bottle?"

"Oh," Sakura was about to agree but decided on something else. "Why don't you give me your water bottle? I have to refill mine as well and I'll fill yours too."

"Alright then," he answered, handing his water bottle to her.

"Ah, S-Sakura-chan, w-would you mind filling mine too?" Hinata timidly asked. Sakura smiled and nodded at the Hyuuga and then took the bottle from her.

"I'll come with you, Forehead Girl!" Ino beamed, having heard Sakura and Kiba's conversation from nearby.

* * *

Deidara sighed. A scowl then formed on his face as he grumpily trotted along the road. He was feeling awfully miserable today for some unknown reason. A small pain jolted in his side, causing him to stop and gently clutch the wound. Ah, yes. He remembered why he was feeling so dreadful. 

The source of his distress wielded odd pink hair.

And had green eyes.

It had been a few days since his encounter with her and he was fortunate that Tobi had found him and somehow been able to nurse him to a state where he was living and well enough to treat his remaining wounds.

There was a feeling inside of him, perhaps shame? Disappointment? Perhaps both. It bothered him to no end that he was supposed to have died a beautiful death yet he was saved and he had even allowed for himself to be saved. Then it aggravated him even more that his savior was 1) Sasori's killer 2) a kunoichi 3) a Leaf nin 4) a teammate of Uchiha survivor's (he had heard the story of Konoha's Team Seven tragedy seeing as Itachi is related to one of the team's members).

Then to top it off, he now felt that he owed not only her but also Tobi since it was Tobi's help that allowed him to survive. It was at times like this that he wished he wasn't born a human and cursed all the manners and lessons that his mother had taught him.

This is it. He should kill her the next time he saw her. Then he'll search for another partner to replace Tobi and kill Tobi and then he'd stop feeling as though he owed the two something.

"But Sakuraaaaa!"

He blinked.

He had been so lost in his thoughts he didn't bother to stay alert enough to notice there were people around. Turning to the source of the voice, he leapt onto a tree and spied on the two females below him. Taking note of the forehead protectors they wore, he carefully masked his chakra. He also took note of the pink hair before him and inwardly smirked at how life had granted him this perfect opportunity to take her life.

"I said _NO_, Ino," he heard the kunoichi say as she lowered a water bottle into the stream.

The blonde, Ino or so he concluded, sighed. "I was just being considerate! I mean, you know..."

"Know what?"

"You know what I mean, Sakura!" so her name was Sakura.

Sakura shifted from her position of kneeling before the steam and sat, her legs crossed. She placed a cap on the water bottle and twisted it close before opening another empty water bottle and beginning to fill it up with water. "Lee-san is just a friend; I'm not desperate so stop bothering me because I am not going to go on a date with him. It will only give him wrong ideas."

Deidara pondered who this Lee person was but quickly shoved away the thought as soon as it came and refocused his attention on the two kunoichis. He found it amusing listening to their useless and completely absurd conversation. They had left themselves wide open for an attack simply because they were discussing a topic as ridiculous as dating.

"Just one, Sakura!" Ino pleaded. "Why don't you give him this chance?"

"I won't go on a date with someone I don't like."

"Then go on a date with Shino or Kiba or someone."

"I'm too busy to do that kind of stuff. I have a goal and I will work towards it and I can't afford to be burdened by these things."

Deidara, sitting on the a branch of the tree, leaned back against the tree. She had impressed him with her statement of her goal and her determination to achieve it; and just moments ago he had assumed she was one of those pathetic girls who were love sick and wanted to date.

"Well sometimes I think you work too hard for someone who obviously isn't worth your time."

Deidara's eyebrow raised just a bit. So he was wrong in thinking she wasn't love sick?

Sakura gave no answer for a few seconds and then replied. "That isn't all there is to it; I want to be a great medic-nin like Tsunade-shishou. But that could be one of them and I think I'm not working enough."

"Sakura, when will you just give up? Can't you see there are other guys who like you so much? He isn't worth it."

"I have given up on him, but don't say that, Ino. Sasuke is very much worth my time."

Deidara's paid closer attention upon hearing the Uchiha's name spoken. The conversation was getting interesting now.

"You spend all your days at the hospital and training. You know, even though we aren't as close as we used to be when we were young I still held on to my vision of our future selves and I hate to see it ruined. I imagined we would be so happy in love and we'd go on double dates and we'd serve our village by protecting our loved ones."

Sakura scoffed. "I used to think like that...but if I'm ever to stop being so weak and actually do something worthwhile, I can't have a love life now. I think I'm beginning to see how Sasuke saw things a couple years back. I was so stupid to chase after him thinking my love for him would help him be stronger. It would only burden someone like him."

Deidara smirked. So the kunoichi liked the Uchiha brat. But what he found that he disliked was her pessimistic views and her underestimation of herself. It wasn't that he liked her or anything that he'd believe so much in her, of course not. He merely refused to accept or believe or even think that Sasori would be defeated by a weak person.

"You weren't stupid, you were just being a regular girl. Lately you haven't been yourself. I know we're busy and hardly see each other but I can hear it in your voice and see it in your eyes. Something is troubling you and I don't want it to be Sasuke," Ino said.

There was a silence and Deidara could hear the leaves rustle in response to the gentle wind's breeze. Sakura had stopped, completely forgetting that the water bottle was already filled and the water was spilling out of the bottle.

"Ino, have you ever done something that felt so right to you yet it was wrong in every single way?" Sakura finally noticed the overfilled water bottle and lifted it up from the stream. "Just knowing a life out there has the potential to reveal that..."

Her eyes peered over to meet Ino's cerulean eyes.

"That you had betrayed your own village?"

Deidara wondered if she had been referring to him and assumed she must have. He sat there, waiting in anticipation to see if the blond would burst out in anger that Sakura would do anything to betray the Leaf. But he was disappointed.

Ino gasped. "I knew it! So Sasuke's betrayal has been bothering you all along! I kept telling you-"

Both Deidara and Sakura mentally sighed to themselves at the blonde's inability to realize that Sasuke _wasn't_ the issue.

* * *

"Yay!" a hyperactive little boy jumped onto the white bed. 

Sakura entered the room and smiled at the sight of the little boy intrigued by something as simple as a bed. The boy's parents came up behind her and his sister squeezed her way through the older people, making her way into the room and proceeding to jump on the bed as well.

"Now, now," their mother walked up to the side of the bed and placed her luggage on the ground. "No jumping on the bed."

The two kids frowned but slowly stopped and sat on the bed.

"We'll reach your destination in about two days," Sakura informed the family. "We figured you might be tired of camping out and we have to restock on our food as well. We'll begin traveling again tomorrow morning, so get a good night's rest."

"Thank you, Sakura-san," the mother said, unpacking her luggage.

* * *

Sakura let her tired body fall against the bed. 

"Hey, Forehead Girl, hopefully you're not thinking about taking up that much space when we actually sleep, do you?" Ino teased, leaning against the window pane sharpening her kunai.

Sakura sat up and threw the blonde kunoichi a glare before retorting, "No, I was simply enjoying having the bed to myself before _you_ take up all the space and I'd end up sleeping on the floor."

Ino glowered. "Why you-"

"Eh," a timid voice said from the doorway and the two girls turned to see Hinata standing there. "A-Are you two fighting again? Y-You guys fight s-so much..."

Sakura let out an annoyed sigh. "Well, with friends like Ino I really don't need enemies."

Hinata let out a soft giggle. "I-I was about to go shopping...uhm, would you guys like to come along?"

"Well, since the kids are busy playing with Akamaru I guess we can let Kiba watch the family," Ino placed the kunai back into her holster and got off against the window pane.

"I'll come too," Sakura said, walking over to Hinata.

The town wasn't as large as Konohagakure but it wasn't too small either. As the girls strolled down the streets of the town, they stopped often to admire the shops. Ino was the one who stopped most, having spotted countless item that 'is a must have because it is just the best shirt/skirt/necklace/or whatever.' Sakura felt a feeling of jealousy arose in her. Sometimes she wished she could be as feminine as Ino. Sometimes she also wished she was as beautiful as Ino.

As beautiful as Ino.

Sakura blinked as she stared at the blonde whose hands were pressed against the glass window and whose eyes were sparkling with delight while she marveled at the beauty of the jewelry before her. As Ino turned to motion for Sakura to go over and look at the items, Sakura saw it wasn't Ino but an image of him...

...that Akatsuki member she saved.

Sakura shook her head and looked again. It was Ino now.

"A-Are you okay, Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked, clearly having seen Sakura doze off.

Ino's fingers left the window display and she walked over to Sakura. "Yeah, you were looking at me like I'm some sort of monster. You're obviously sick for not seeing my beauty."

Sakura merely glowered at her best friend before walking off to find a grocery store. "Pig."

Hinata watched the pink-haired kunoichi stormed off and turned to see Ino back against the window display admiring the jewelries. "Ah...I-Ino-chan, s-shouldn't we go with...with Sakura-chan?"

"Nah," Ino said, scanning over the sparkling items. "I couldn't get her to tell me what's bothering her and I suppose she isn't ready to tell us. I think maybe we should let her have some alone time. Now, come over and see all these beautiful jewelries!"

Hinata forced a weak smile. "Y-Yeah."

* * *

She hated this feeling. She wished there was some sign, any sign, that would let her know if the blonde Akatsuki she saved was dead. The thought of him possibly surviving bothered her to no end because she knew that his survival could very well lead to her life having to pay the price. 

If Naruto were to hear about this, she wondered how he would react. Would he yell at her? Would he try to attack her for an act of betrayal even though he knows her well enough to conclude she wouldn't dare to ever betray the Leaf? Would he...hate her? For aiding someone on the same side as the man Sasuke had sworn to kill?

A sigh escaped her pale lips.

_'I cannot believe I'm you,'_ a voice from within her said. _'I can't believe I'm someone who is so...so stupid! Healing an enemy! Keeping it a secret!'_

_'SHUT UP,' _Sakura mentally snapped at the voice.

Her inner self didn't seem to stop and continued her rant. _'This could mean the end of me – of US! Why must you do this?! WHY?! What if he survived?!'_

_'Don't be ridiculous. What are the chances that he'd have survived?' _Sakura asked, trying to calm her inner self and herself down at the same time.

_'But-'_

_'NO.'_

_'-think about-'_

_'Shut up.'_

_'-the-'_

_'Ino and Hinata must be worried I'm talking to myself!' _and with that, Sakura forced that inner voice within her into a far off chamber within her mind and whirled around to smile at Ino and Hinata. But to her surprise, the two girls were nowhere to be found.

"Ino-pig...Hinata-chan?" their names slipped out as a whisper. She turned to her left and right but saw only the faces of unfamiliar people.

Suddenly, Sakura was thrown back a good distance and a loud booming noise rang throughout my ears. She quickly got up on her feet, having to shield her eyes from the dust that remained from the explosion. All around her the civilians were running back into their homes, although she really saw no point in it because such an explosion could easily kill them in their homes.

What in the world could have possibly happened? Why would there be an explosion?

_'Hurry let's get back to Ino and the others! We have to make sure the family is alright!'_ that voice appeared again. Sakura was about to argue with her inner self but decided to focus on what was more important. She had to get back to everyone else.

Her legs began to dash back the way she came from, in hopes of finding Ino or Hinata along the way. Perhaps she would be fortunate and find Ino still at that jewelry store. She found herself wishing for once that Ino would still be there.

As she rounded a corner, she was forcefully pushed back and her petite body collided against the hard ground. A huge body laid on top of her.

She squinted her eyes a couple times before realizing what had happened. When her eyes opened she found that the man on top of her had just barely began to lift himself up and their eyes met for a few seconds.

He was a fairly old man, perhaps in his late middle-ages. His face was, truth be told, hideous.

Sakura wanted to push the man off but he stayed glued staring at her. His eyes traveled around her until it laid on the forehead protector wrapped around her head. Sakura was taken by surprise as he let out a scream and pulled out a knife from inside his shirt. How he managed to hide such a thing there was a mystery to Sakura.

Thankful that she was shinobi, Sakura was quick enough to grab a kunai from her holster and deflect the strike of the knife against her. Now, the knife came into contact with her kunai, the weapons clashed in an 'x' shape right before Sakura's face.

"YOU! EVIL! You're all here to kill me, aren't you?! I WON'T DIE BY THE HANDS OF YOU EVIL SHINOBI!" the man screamed in terror, his eyes so wide in fear.

Sakura gritted her teeth against the force of his knife. She couldn't use her chakra against an innocent man. Well, at least she thought he was innocent. "S-Sir, I'm not here to kill you! I'm here escorting a client to her home!"

"Lies...LIES!" he refused to believe her. "THAT'S WHAT THEY ALL SAY!"

"I'm not lying! Please calm down!" she pleaded.

"No, you-"

And she could only blink in surprise at why the man had stopped. When she felt her own shirt getting wet, she stared down to see the crimson liquid oozing out of the man. Then he collapsed on her and she realized someone had stabbed a kunai through his back and the kunai had pierced through his heart.

A shadow loomed over her small figure and her jade eyes looked upwards to meet the pattern of red clouds.

The man's body was lifted from her and thrown away a good distance. Sakura jolted up to a sitting position to see the back of her savior walking away. His black cloak flowed gently and his blond hair swayed as he took steps away from Sakura.

She could only stare at his back, left in disbelief at what he had done.

She was angry that he had killed the man. Although that man had attacked her, she couldn't blame him; after all, shinobis _are_ ultimately assassins and feared by many people. She wanted to get up on her feet, stomp towards that Akatsuki member she had saved days ago and scream at him.

But she couldn't.

The other part of her sat there, wondering if he had saved her because he saw she was in trouble. Well, Akatsuki wouldn't do that, right? After all, they are heartless and cruel and cold-hearted murderers out seeking power. So why would he do such a thing anyway? Could it be that he was more than just a psychopath killer?

As if reading her mind, Deidara shifted his head a bit to his side before calling out to her. "Don't get any wrong ideas. My mission was to kill him...yeah."

He stood there and she sat there, the silence so loud they could hear the wind blow by.

So that was why?

Sakura's eyes narrowed in anger. He would just kill anyone? And with no hesitation whatsoever?

_'That would mean he will definitely have no problem telling everyone we healed him,'_ her inner self grumbled in frustration.

"And I felt I owed you," he added quietly before continuing to walk again.

Owed her?

She had expected for him to turn against her, tell her village what she'd done, see to it that she suffered and was hunted down...she hadn't think he would feel as though he was in debt to her for saving him.

How wrong she had been.

"Ah...er," She stared at his retreating back once more before calling out, "Thank you."

She watched as he raised his hand, throwing something into the air and a giant bird formed. He leapt onto the bird and flew off.

As she watched him fly away, a barely visible weak smile crept onto her face.

_'What? What are you smiling at?' _that same annoying voice within her head questioned. _'You're crazy!'_

She knew she shouldn't smile like that at someone like him, at anything someone like he would do. But she simply couldn't help it. All this time she had been so worried that her life would dramatically change because she saved him.

She was wrong because she should have considered there to be some sort of amount of human in him left to be able to feel in debt. In addition, he was an S-ranked criminal...an Akatsuki member. Letting others know that he had to be saved by a little girl would definitely damage his pride. She should have seen it in the first place!

But little did Sakura know, she was also wrong in assuming that her life would change in a sense that the Leaf would believe she betrayed them by healing Deidara.

This was the start of it all. Her life would change in a different kind of way because of those two simple words they exchanged.

"_Thank you."_

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* * *

**Senko: **That's all for this chapter. 

**Note: **This has been brought to my attention by a review for the first chapter and I just wanted to say that I do know Lady Hanaka is doing a story that has this same plot. However, even before she wrote her story I had been thinking of this story (ever since I read about Deidara's death I started to plan it out). I know her story is ownage o.o; and it's superly awesome, but I had this story planned out T.T from beginning to end AND even a sequel! So at first I wasn't going to post it up because I didn't want to do a cliche story. However...I mean, I had the whole thing planned out TT.TT so I decided I should just post it anyway -.-; lol.


	3. Chapter 3

**Senko:** Hi everyone:D

Many thanks to **ayane04, LadySakuraForest, InuKeifer, Heartless Ghostie, NOthiNG buT ANime, Lanny9000990009, AkatsukiFerret, naruto-ddrchamp, I-Love-Akatsuki, Sekiryu,** and **person** for reviewing!

**Disclaimer: **Me no own. Duh.

* * *

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Chapter 3

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Inside her patient's room, Sakura could hear the faint footsteps that belonged to someone echo throughout the plain hallways of the hospital. Her patient was a middle-aged jounin, sound asleep at the moment, and she stood by his bedside cleaning up the bandages and materials.

Sakura's team had successfully escorted the family to their destination without any trouble after Sakura had been saved by Deidara. It had been about a week since her last encounter with the blonde Akatsuki member, two weeks since she had first saved him. After having met him again during the explosion at the town in which she was attacked by a man fearing for his life, Sakura had been feeling better than ever now. She supposed it was because she knew that he was no longer a threat to her in a sense that he would reveal to the world what she had done and thus ruin her life.

She knew it was the last time she would ever meet him. At least, she hoped it was, and she knew chances were that it was. Now that he had paid her back they would be able to live on as though they had never met before. She was now resuming her position as a medic-nin for Konoha and he would continue as an Akatsuki member.

The footsteps she had heard from before grew louder as they neared and then stopped.

Sakura's eyes shifted upwards from the table where she was gathering the materials and to the door. There stood Ino, her head shyly peering into the white room. "May I help you?"

The blonde kunoichi stepped inside. "No need to be so formal, Forehead-Girl."

Sakura turned around to face her. "I am a medic-nin at this hospital and while I am on my working hours, I am expected to behave professionally towards anyone and everyone."

Ino sighed. "You are so hopeless. No wonder you have no boyfriend – you'd just treat them like patients!"

The pink-haired medic-nin sent a glare to the other girl in the room. "What do you want?"

"Calm down, calm down," Ino laughed. "I just came because Hokage-sama told me to come fetch you to go on a mission with my team. She said your shift should be over right about now?"

Sakura groaned. "Already? I prefer just staying here."

"Stop your complaining, now lets go, go, GO!"

* * *

Sakura leaned against the gate of Konoha, her backpack resting on the ground beside her. After Ino had gone to the hospital to inform her of her new mission, Sakura had left back to her place to pack. After all, she was told that they were to begin the mission as soon as possible. 

"Forehead-Girl!"

Sakura looked up ahead to see her best friend sprinting towards her, a large backpack against her back. This scene reminded her much of her mission from a week ago. Following behind Ino was a tired-looking Shikamaru, a Chouji eating chips as always, and an expressionless Sai. "Finally! I've been here for half an hour!"

"I see you're really impatient, Ugly," Sai stated, earning a glare from the pink-haired shinobi.

"Sorry, sorry, blame it on Ino," Shikamaru said. "I really don't see why you must take all that stuff. It's so troublesome."

"Well, I have to be prepared! There's a festival, right?" Ino beamed, this time following behind Shikamaru as he lead the way out of Konoha.

Sakura walked beside Ino. "A festival?"

"Yep!" Ino chirped. "Apparently, we're going to attend a festival and guard it in case of attacks."

Chouji stopped his munching. "The festival is held annually and usually progresses with no trouble."

"Oh? Then why is it now that we must go and guard?" Sakura asked.

"That's because the mayor heard about issues with the shinobi world and he's scared," Sai informed.

A sigh was heard in Shikamaru's direction. "The town is fairly large and wealthy so when the mayor heard about a powerful organization named Akatsuki, he became scared that Akatsuki might attack them. Also, Orochimaru doesn't seem to be hiding his power either; he's been having his subordinates retrieve for him forbidden jutsus in order for him to grow stronger.

The mayor says that he was related to a powerful shinobi many years ago and the shinobi started to make develop an original technique. It wasn't anything harmful. However, the shinobi died and left him the scroll. The mayor's paranoid that Akatsuki or Orochimaru might attack."

"Ah, I see," Sakura said.

"Hey, hey, Forehead," Ino nudged Sakura's arm gently.

"What?"

Ino fumbled inside a small bag strapped around her waist and soon pulled out a small scroll. "Ta-dah!"

Sakura stared at it for a moment. "What? You finally learned how to distinguish a scroll from your other belongings?"

"No!" the blonde retorted, but soon smiled as she opened the scroll. "Look!"

Sakura leaned in closer to her best friend to see the scroll. She studied it, not knowing what the names on it meant. "What is this? Your list of boyfriends?"

"No, this is a list of _your_ possible boyfriends."

"...what the hell?"

Cerulean eyes glimmered in amusement as they looked over to see Sakura's stunned expression. "I decided that since you won't show yourself the creature called boys, then I'll show it to you!"

"That is so ridiculous, Ino," Shikamaru remarked from the front of the traveling group. His steps slowed down as he came to walk side by side with his plump best friend, initiating a conversation to divert his attention from Ino's "ridiculous" topic.

Ino simply ignored the lazy genius. "Anyway, Forehead, this is a list of all the possible guys that you can date and maybe give him that picture we took!"

The scroll was shoved into Sakura's hand and Sakura read it with disinterest. "This is so dumb. Aburame Shino?"

"Yep!" Ino beamed. "He's dark and mysterious, unlike Naruto being so loud all the time. You know, all the kick ass and hot bad guys always turn out to have some sort of psychological issue...but Shino's got all their bad ass qualities minus the insanity. Only bad thing about him is the bugs..."

Sakura had to silently agree. There was Sasuke with his family murdered...Itachi who_ murdered _his family, Gaara who has a demon inside of him and in addition Gaara also almost killed her years ago, Sasori and his odd fascination for puppets...and Deidara with mouths on his hands. Sakura had to admit that the blonde Akatsuki member was very attractive and had added him onto the 'Hot Bad-Ass Guys Who are Crazy' list. _'Wait. Stop thinking about him, bad thoughts, Sakura, bad thoughts, stop stop stop stop,'_ she chanted to herself.

"Inuzuka Kiba?" Sakura forced herself to break from her thoughts.

"You'll be surrounded by cute and loving puppies! How cute is that?"

"...I don't know if you're suggesting that I'd be happy dating Kiba or dating him in order to be with...dogs?"

"Both!"

"Okay...next is...what the hell?! _KAKASHI-SENSEI?_ HELL NO!"

"What? Even though he's, what...thirty? He's still hot and single!"

"That's my teacher, you pig!"

"No, your teacher is Hokage-sama! If you really have such a big problem with it, then go to the next guy!"

"Sabaku no Gaara? Ino...he's the freaking Kazekage."

"And? He's still a hot boy."

"JIRAIYA? What the hell are you smoking?"

"What! He's single!"

"He's like, what, a gazillion years old! And...Gai? What the hell?"

"I heard he's single."

"And you just put the names of all single guys down? If I wanted to date Gai, I'd just settle for his mini version and go for Lee-san."

* * *

"Alright, we've rest here for the night," Shikamaru said, setting down his luggage as the group approached a large opening. "Chouji and I will go hunt for some food." 

And with that the two male members of the team left, leaving the two girls to tend to the camp. Ino fumed. "I don't get it! Why must we rest now? It's only sunset and Shikamaru said so earlier that if we continued going on we should be there sometime during nightfall."

Sakura sighed. "What can you expect form a lazy shinobi?"

"But I want to go there so I can shop as much as possible before the festival! Stupid Shika!" Ino growled.

"You and your shopping," Sakura commented. "Look at it this way, Shikamaru sees this mission as a burden to him since chances are nothing will happen and everyone will be safe – its best that he remains at Konohagakure just in case we actually do get attacked. You can't blame him for wanting to take his time getting there. Now let's go gather wood to make the fire."

Ino pouted. "But still! Stupid Shika."

* * *

Two pairs of feet stopped upon the entrance of a town, their dark cloaks swaying in the wind. A smile appeared on the blonde's handsome face. "So you set up the bombs, yeah?" 

"Yes, Deidara-senpai," answered the male whose face was hidden beneath an orange mask. "Are you going to look around the village now?"

"Yeah," Deidara answered, walking forth into the village. "You can head on and find an hotel, yeah."

"Alright then, Deidara-senpai!" Tobi chirped, trotting off all too merrily for an Akatsuki member.

Deidara strolled through the streets of the town. It was a fairly large and he could clearly see that business boomed here. A large crowd hogged the roads, shopping and carrying on with their daily lives. As he walked through the town, he couldn't help but feel pity for these people.

He had made Tobi set up the bombs and tomorrow his plan would take place. He and Tobi had been ordered to retrieve for the Leader a scroll that the Leader assumed was in the possession of the mayor. He knew that a festival would be held the following day and therefore it would be easier to steal the scroll; the people would be occupied with the festivities.

He also found out that the mayor would be hiring some shinobi. Of course, it must be some pathetic shinobi who couldn't even put a scratch of him, but nevertheless he mustn't underestimate them too much. He'd intelligently sneak into the mayor's place during the festival, take the scroll and perform his ritual of ending every battle with a 'bang,' so he'd let off his bombs. Of course he wouldn't destroy the entire city – just enough to cause panic.

"Kichi-chan! Kichi-chan!"

Deidara shifted slightly to see a little boy calling over to a young girl; they were perhaps no older than ten. He cursed having walked into a residential area. The boy, ironically, possessed blonde hair and blue eyes like he himself and Deidara couldn't help but wonder if fate set this up to make fun of him. Back when he was young, he never had a friend because of his special bloodline limit allowing him to have mouths on his palms. Perhaps fate wanted to laugh as he watched the little boy enthusiastically drag around a girl.

"Slow down, Haru-kun!" the girl wailed.

Haru came a sudden stop and let go of Kichi's hand as they came to a small grassy area, just a good distance away from Deidara. Seeds and gardening tools laid there. "I got these stuff from my grandma! She said if we plant these flowers and make a wish, it'll come true."

"Oh!" Kichi beamed. "I'm gonna wish to stay with you forever and ever and ever!"

"Yeah!" Haru exclaimed, taking hold of a shovel and beginning to dig.

For a moment Deidara stood there, watching the two children. He turned to leave but something stopped him. He stopped, sensing his chakra reacting to something. He turned around to face the children again and it was now that he focused his stare and saw a bomb planted beneath the area where the two kids were gardening.

_'Shit...the bomb activates if it's touched,' _Deidara inwardly cursed. It would only be a matter of seconds before they activated the bomb, and Deidara, losing control to his legs, immediately dashed to the two children and pushed them out of the way.

A loud roaring sound boomed in the area. Fortunately, the explosion wasn't a really big one and had only created a large hole that stretched from Haru's front yard down all the way across the street. The two children scrambled out of Deidara's hold, eyes widened in shock.

"Ah, M-M-Mister...y-you're bleeding!" Kichi screamed, watching the blood dripping down Deidara's right arm.

Deidara grunted in frustration as he lifted himself up from the ground, his left arm clutching his right. He didn't know why he pushed them out of the way, and now the explosion had injured his arm. A neighbor rushed out of the house. "Haru-kun! Kichi-chan! Are you two okay?"

"Yeah!" Haru said, and then turned to look at Deidara. "But he isn't."

Deidara could hear the neighbor's gasp. "That cloak...A-A-Akat...Akatsuki?!"

Deidara gritted his teeth in annoyance at having been discovered, gathered chakra to his feet and instantly dashed off.

* * *

By the time dinner was served (fish as always, and Sakura found it amazing how after all these years she hadn't tired of fishes yet), night had fallen and the crescent moon hung high in the sky. The group hung around the fire for a while until Shikamaru had decided to go sleep. Chouji had volunteered to take the first shift watching over the vicinity and had told Sakura and Ino about a stream nearby. 

The two kunoichis journeyed to the body of water, thankful that they could bathe. When one became a shinobi, the simple pleasures of a bath was one of the best gifts ever; after all, the person might not be able to bathe for days on a mission. When they came to the stream, Ino enthusiastically stripped off her clothes and jumped in while Sakura took her time.

Sakura didn't know how the blonde was able to dive into the water so quickly – in contrast to the energetic blonde, Sakura liked to test the cold water with her toes before preparing to sink into the water. She had barely slipped into the water when she felt the sudden arctic drops beat against her skin and she turned to glare at her best friend, realizing that Ino had splashed water at her.

Ino smirked.

Sakura's glare soon faded into a smile as she splashed water back at the blonde girl.

* * *

Deidara's footsteps came to a halt and his uninjured left arm gently rested against a tree to support his weight. The explosion had drawn attention and he was sure that he had been followed for a while until now. He didn't know if the hired shinobi had been in the village, but if they were then things would be more difficult for him. So he escaped as fast and far as he could. 

Now he was out in the middle of nowhere and it would take him perhaps a few hours to travel back to the village. He sighed. It would be troubling to travel all the way back. After so many days of traveling to get to that town, he had done nothing yet and now he had to go all the way back.

He supposed this was how things turned out and staying angered wouldn't help him. For now, he'd have to find some place to stay at for the night.

* * *

"How long have we been here?" Ino asked. 

"I don't know," Sakura answered. "Are you leaving now?"

"Hm...yeah, I'll leave now," Ino got up from the water, grabbed her towel nearby and then wrapped it around her. "I'll go get my clothes from our camp and change. Don't sleep in the water, Forehead."

Sakura glared at her best friend's retreating back. "Pig."

When Ino had gone, Sakura remained in the stream. She leaned back against the edge of land, staring at up the crescent moon. The water came up to her chest, just barely enough to cover her breasts, and it glimmered against the illumination of the moon. The water had been cold but Sakura soon adjusted to the temperature. Her eyelids began to tire and closed to hide her jade eyes.

A rustling nearby had her eyes immediately shoot open.

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she scanned her surroundings, not sure if the rustling was caused by someone she knew. Her eyes finally laid upon the source and widen as the events took place.

An all too familiar blonde Akatsuki member emerged from the bushes, tugging his cloak that had been caught by a branch. Sakura immediately reached behind her for her weapons but when her hands found nothing but a towel, she frowned remembering that she'd left her weapons back at the camp. When Deidara had finally untangled himself, the branch released him and he stumbled, falling down on his back.

As he picked himself up from the ground, Sakura took note of the stench of blood and the half-dried crimson liquid straining his hand. She quickly wrapped the towel around her and slid out of the water, dashing to his side.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her hands clutching his shoulders as she surveyed his body for any injuries. Her attempt at finding an injury failed as his large cloak covered most of him.

Deidara drew back from her upon feeling her small hands lie on his shoulder. "What do you want, yeah?"

Sakura frowned at his behavior. "I was trying to be nice! Sheez..."

"Nice?" he snorted. "I wonder how the heck you even passed the ninja academy with attitude, yeah."

Sakura growled, stood up on her feet and began to walk away. "Ungrateful jerk."

Her steps stopped, though, and she turned back to see him there sitting on the ground, his bangs covering his eyes. Somehow, seeing him in such a weakened state was so unfitting and a part of her simply couldn't bring herself to stand there and watch as he underwent pain. She knew he was bad, but she knew he wasn't evil.

She sighed once more as she recalled how he had saved her a week ago. She found herself in front of him, kneeling down to meet his eyes. "Take off your cloak."

He laughed. "I don't think now is the time to be trying to hit on me, yeah."

Sakura sighed, shaking her head. "I should have just walked away..."

"It's not too late, yeah."

He was right, but yet she found herself still there as though glued to that place. She chose not to reply and instead placed her hand on the opening of his cloak and beginning to unbutton it. He gave no protest when she slipped it off of him to reveal a huge gash on his right arm. As she placed her hand over the wound, a green chakra surrounding his arm. "What happened?"

When he gave no reply, she repeated herself with an obvious hint of annoyance. "I got hit with my explosive, yeah."

"Figures. You were too dumb and got hit with your own weapon."

Deidara shot her a glare. "I am not weak! It was those two stupid little kids, yeah. Freaking stupid kids would have died if I didn't-"

He immediately stopped himself from finishing the second, shocked that he had given her enough information to conclude what he had done. He was Akatsuki and he was powerful; he wasn't supposed to let anyone know he would save another. Embarrassment washed over him as he knew she must be laughing at him for being weak.

But when she gave off a small, innocent laughter, Deidara shifted his gaze to look at her, a smile spread wide on her face. It was then that he realized she was so close in front of him, a single towel wrapped around her petite figure and the small water droplets glistening on her cream skin. He fought back the blush that almost appeared on his face; he hadn't been so close to any female in a long time.

"I've stopped the bleeding," Sakura informed, drawing back from the S-class criminal. "Make sure to take it easy or it'll reopen."

Deidara smirked. "You're very foolish and stupid and weak, you know that? Heh...I could kill you right now, yeah."

She met his eyes with a strong stare that challenged him. "I believe that I have the upper-hand here and you are still in no condition to be making threats."

For a moment they sat there in front of each other, their gazes staring at one another until Deidara lowered his head. "Why?"

Sakura blinked once, having not expected for him to question her. That same warm smile from before appeared on her face again. "Because I know you did it to save the children."

"You healed me before I told you, yeah."

"How would you know I hadn't been planning on killing you?"

Deciding this was a good spot to stop the conversation Deidara pulled his cloak over and stood up, beginning to walk away. Sakura watched as he took a few steps, then stopped for a reason unknown to her. "Thank you."

A small smile graced her face, because even though she knew that she shouldn't have healed him, those two words were what she wanted to hear. As a medic-nin, she wanted nothing more than to heal the injured and know that they were thankful for it. It proved she was of use. "You're welcome."

"By the way, nice outfit."

Sakura blinked, wondering what he meant. Why would he compliment her outfit if she wasn't wearing – her eyes traveled down to her body and she realized she was still only in a towel. _'Oh.'_ A shade of pink crept onto her face and she lifted her head to look back at where he was only to be met with nothing. He had left already.

* * *

"Welcome, great shinobi of the Fire Country!" a fairly short and plump man beamed. He was the mayor of the town. 

Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Sai stood in front of the mayor, dressed differently from their usual attire. As soon as they entered the town, Shikamaru had said that in order to avoid having the enemy identify them as shinobi and seeing them as a threat, they must be prepared and appear as though they were regular civilians. Ino beamed, taking out from her large luggage two beautiful kimonos. She said that she knew Sakura wouldn't pack a kimono, so she brought an extra one for the festival. For the rest, they had to go out and shop.

Ino wore a lavender kimono with floral patterns, a light pink obi around her waist. Sakura had on a peach kimono with cherry blossom petals designing the edge of the sleeves and the bottom, a pale blue obi tied around her waist.

"We're excited about the festival!" Ino chirped. "And we'll do our best to protect your town!"

"Oh, such wonderful shinobi you are," the man beamed. "Well, enjoy yourselves. The festival will run until midnight."

And with that the man stalked off. It was afternoon when they arrived and already the festival had begun. The streets were bustling with people of all ages and countless booths and activities.

"Alright, here's the plan," Shikamaru began. "We'll have two people guard the mayor's house and three roam around the festival. We'll switch every two hours and we'll have wireless radios with us to communicate. Don't stray too far for too long because the radios won't cover a really long distance. Geez...such a troublesome mission."

* * *

Deidara whirled around the night sky sitting safely atop of his clay bird, Tobi sat a few feet away from him. Using his left hand, he gently lifted his blonde bangs to reveal the scope that covered his right eye. Scanning the area where the mayor's house would be, he smirked as he spotted the scroll hidden away in a room. 

"Alright, Tobi," he began to lower the bird. "The scroll is in the master bedroom in a sealed box. If we get separated, I'll meet you at the third nearest town."

"Yes, Deidara-senpai!" Tobi exclaimed enthusiastically.

* * *

Sakura wandered around the streets of the town, unfamiliar faces all around her. The three who had their break to enjoy the festivities (and of course still stay alert) were Ino, Shikamaru and her. She had clearly seen the attraction between the two teammates and decided to leave them alone. After all, she was a big girl and she could handle being by herself. 

They had been staying cautious for attacks the entire day and it was night now. She entered a small fortune telling booth and glanced at the clock that rested on a nearby table. She had approximately half an hour left before it was her turn to guard the mayor's house.

"Ah, a shinobi, eh?" an old voice said from the darkness.

Sakura looked ahead of her to see a woman wrapped in a dark cloak and it was now that she realized the darkness of the booth. There was a small source of light that came from lit candles. "Er...hi."

"I see much complications in your future, dear child," the woman said.

Much complications? Sakura inwardly sighed. It seemed her life was already complicated enough with a perverted teacher, a fox demon container, and a vengeful clan survivor. Adding on to that was keeping Naruto controlled, returning Sasuke to the Leaf, and her communications with an S-class criminal. "I see. We'll, I think I should go now."

"I think you should," she said. "Stay alert. I sense a danger within the town right now."

Right now?

And without a second though, Sakura dashed out of the booth and onto the streets, scanning all around her. She sprinted throughout the town trying to find anyone of suspicion but so far she had no luck at all. She stopped as she came to the edge of the town where the residential houses stopped and a road led outwards of the city.

Up ahead of her, she saw teenagers walking around holding hands. Sakura couldn't help but smile at their simple life and at the same time wish she was that girl with a boyfriend.

* * *

Deidara rounded a corner, having escaped the battle scene. He hadn't expected that two people who looked like regular civilians would turn out to be shinobi and interfere with his plans. He could hear the sound of weapons clashing and felt thankful that Tobi was there to distract the Konoha shinobi. A smirk appeared on his face as his hand clenched around the scroll. 

He knew Tobi was smart enough to flee the fight once Tobi realized he was gone, so without further delays he dashed further away from the battle. When he reached the edge of the town, he felt it was safe to bring out his bird since the ninjas probably couldn't see it here. When the bird expanded to its true form, he jumped onto it and was lifted up into the air immediately.

Now to finish everything off with a bang. He smirked, bringing his hands together. "Katsu!"

* * *

There was a loud rumbling sound that roared throughout the area from out of nowhere. Sakura looked around to find nothing out of the ordinary, but that was when she realized it was from above. Her head quickly jolted upwards to see that the a large portion of the mountain above her had exploded. The large boulder and rocks tumbled downwards. 

She could see a small figure up in the air and knew he must be the behind the attack. Her eyes shifted in front of her to where the couple stood. They had stopped and were looking upwards, shocked.

* * *

Deidara watched as the mountain fell. For a second he was smirking in satisfaction, but a frown instantly crept onto his face as his scope identified an all too familiar figure caught in the center of his plans. He could only stare at the kunoichi's figure as she looked up at him before turning away and running to her death. _'She's saving the stupid kids down there!'_

Sakura's steps showed no sign of slowing down as she rushed towards the couple. Deidara stayed glued to the spot where he was at, watching as she sprinted towards the couple.

_That same warm smile from before appeared on her face again. "Because I know you did it to save the children."_

It was though time had slowed and he watched as she grabbed their hands and swung them far away.

"_I believe that I have the upper-hand here and you are still in no condition to be making threats."_

And she stood there, staring up at the falling boulders and rocks as she fearfully awaited the end of her.

"_Thank you."_

"_You're welcome."_

He gritted his teeth in anger, knowing he would be regretting what he was about to do. He cursed the way she would dare to smile at him, a smile that no one had ever shown him because they feared his bloodline abilities. He cursed the way she was intelligent enough to challenge him.

He cursed the way she spoke those two words in a way that made them burn inside of him and made him unable to forget the debt he owed her for saving his life yet again.

And in an instant, he swooped down with his bird and grabbed her by the waist so that she was safe on the back of his bird.

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* * *

**Senko: **Oh, since I have the outline for this story all typed up...lol you people who want some DeiSaku stuff won't get it very soon xD I'm thinking they'll have an actual DeiSaku moment around chapter 7 and they'll have their first kiss a few chapters after that. I'm evil, aren't I? But I suppose I just don't see Deidara kissing Sakura unless he's in love with her :D 

Anyway, hope you guys all enjoyed this chapter ;) S2 everyone!


	4. Chapter 4

**Senko: **Many of you gave me some wonderful reviews that had me go "Awwww OMGGGG awww" at the screen xD that's a good sign! I love all you readers (and super love the reviewers!)!

**Crimson90:** I actually thought of that too but I needed for Sakura to be in danger T.T and this was the only thing I could come up with. LoL.

**Koobabear: **OMG like hi XD LOL I really feel tempted to post up my SasoSaku D: but...must...resist...must finish planning first T.T

**Rain Yimiko Natsuya: **Eep...o.o; I didn't realize I made that mistake. I'm too lazy to fix it, but thank you so much for realizing it:D

Thanks a bunch to all who reviewed: **ayane04, InuKeifer, JenKonoha, Lanny9000990009, LadySakuraForest, artchick, BishieLuver01, Heartless Ghostie, rebel-girl, I-Love-Akatsuki, LitoxShorty, **and **Megan of The Sand**.

**Note: **I really don't know how Sakura addresses Tsunade. In many fics, she refers to her as Tsunade-sama. I don't remember how it came to be but I started to have Sakura address her as Tsunade-shishou. So yeah...o.O;

**Disclaimer:** Me no own. Duh.

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Chapter 4

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There was a loud roaring noise that filled the atmosphere and stole the attention of everyone. Around them, random small explosions erupted from out of nowhere but the loudest and attention-grabbing rumble came from the southern area of the town.

Sai and Chouji stopped their battle immediately upon hearing the sound and Tobi took this moment to escape. When their attention returned to where the Akatsuki member was, they realized he had gone already.

Ino and Shikamaru stood in the center of the busy streets, the rest of the civilians imitating them. She felt her heart race. "What...was that?"

"I don't know," Shikamaru said into the wireless radio. "Is everyone alright?"

"_I'm good,"_ Chouji replied.

"_And so am I,"_ Sai said.

"Forehead Girl?" Ino asked. When there was no answer, Ino began to feel impatient. "Forehead Girl! Answer! NOW! Hello!?"

"Sakura, are you there?" Shikamaru questioned as well, but received no answer. "Alright, what happened?"

"_We were attacked,"_ Sai answered.

"What!" Shikamaru exclaimed. "And you kept quiet?!"

"_It seemed as though we had the upper hand," _Chouji began. _"It seems we were really kicking their ass but then one of them suddenly disappeared and then an explosion went off."_

"You two stay there and make sure the scroll is safe. I was told it's in the master bedroom in a box," Shikamaru commanded. "Ino and I will go check out the explosion."

* * *

Sakura's closed eyes squinted once before she took notice of her consciousness and attempted to open her eye. Her eyes half opened to be met with a darkness and the familiar pattern of red clouds and they immediately snapped open. She was lying on the lap of a blonde Akatsuki sitting cross legged atop a giant bird, his right arm securely wrapped around her waist to prevent her from falling off.

Startled, she instantly pulled back, but to her dismay she lost her balance and almost slipped off the bird's back had it not been for Deidara who immediately grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "Sheez, be careful, yeah."

When he let go of her hand, Sakura reached down to her thighs to grab a weapon but was disappointed when she felt nothing. She looked down to see her weapon pouch was gone.

"Looking for this?"

Sakura's eyes jolted upwards to see her weapon pouch dangling between the hold of Deidara's thumb and index finger. A small anger arose in her at knowing he had gone under kimono to obtain her weapons. "You-!"

"I knew you'd try to attack me, yeah. Is this how you thank me?" he interrupted. "I saved your life, yeah."

"Well you just so happened to be the one who put my life in danger in the first place, _yeah_," she glared, copying his habit and making sure to emphasize it.

"Not my fault you were too stupid and decided to save those two dang kids, yeah," he said.

"Like you didn't do something like that?" she argued, and he glanced at her with his right eye before looking away and not bothering to say anything back. "Give back the scroll you took."

"I don't think you're in a position to sound threatening. After all, I have the upper hand, yeah," he smirked, using the same words she had used on him the previous night when she had healed him at the stream.

"Let me off."

"No, yeah. I mean _no_, yeah. I mean...no, that's what I meant, yeah...wait, I mean no," his eyebrows furrowed in frustration. "Ok, _NO_. That's what I meant, yeah."

Sakura had to force herself to hold back her laughter and maintain a straight face, although it was so very difficult to not giggle at the blonde's cute behavior. "Why not?"

"Because it's too close to your team, yeah," he answered. "When we land you can go do whatever you want, yeah."

"You're...almost nice. It's suspicious," she accused, receiving no answer from the handsome blonde.

* * *

When Ino and Shikamaru arrived, Sai and Chouji had already been there and before them stood two teenagers who apparently happened to be witnesses. Right behind them rested a huge cluster of boulders and rocks, scattered everywhere. 

"What happened?!" Ino impatiently exclaimed upon the second of arrival.

The teenage girl was crying into her boyfriend's arms as he spoke. "W-We were taking a walk and all of a sudden there was an explosion and the mountain collapsed. We were so shocked we couldn't move, but a pink-haired girl saved us and I don't know what happened afterward. Maybe...she was in it...for us...?"

There was a silence among everyone except the teenage girl, her sobs filling the atmosphere while she muttered incoherently some things a long the lines of "it should have been us" and "why did this happen."

Ino felt the tears sting her eyes, but she refused to believe her pink-haired best friend would die this way. She still had yet to give the photo they took to someone. She still had yet to meet the love of her life and get married. "No, she's not dead! She can't be dead!"

"Sai, you go back and search the town to see if there's any enemies still there and Chouji, Ino and I will look through these rocks for Sakura. Contact us if you see anything," Shikamaru commanded. He wondered how exactly a mission that he thought was supposed to be easy turned into something so complicated.

* * *

Hours later, they landed at a village that Sakura had never seen before. Well, she wasn't as experienced a shinobi as some because she preferred to spend most of her time healing patients at the hospital. As she jumped off the back of the bird, she could only look around the town in confusion. 

"You can go wherever you like, yeah," Deidara spoke approaching her from behind.

At first she wasn't sure what she should say. It would be wrong of her to depend on an S-class criminal, but at the same time she knew nothing about this place and had no idea of how to get back to her teammates. They had flown over forests and mountains that she had no knowledge of.

She wanted to stay by him for she feared to be alone, feared to go off into a place completely unknown to her.

"Or are you going to miss me too much to leave me, yeah?" she heard him tease, and immediately she felt a sudden upsurge of revolt towards him.

"No!" she snapped. "I'm leaving!"

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered.

She took a few steps but stopped for a second before continuing again. "Thank you."

* * *

Ino grunted in frustration as she lifted a rock about the size of her upper body and pushed it out of the way. She didn't know how long they'd been lifting and pushing and breaking pulling away the rocks, but she estimated that they must be have been doing it for a few hours. They had no sign of Sakura yet and if Sakura was actually stuck under this pile of heavy dirt, Ino could only pray Sakura would still be alive. 

But it was better to at least find a broken body than to find nothing, right? Of course, she shoved away this thought and convinced herself that Sakura could...no, _would _be safe.

* * *

Sakura didn't know how long she had been roaming around the streets of the unfamiliar village. It was a small village, a lot tinier than the town she had been assigned to guard. She supposed it must be near midnight now if not later. 

She hated feeling so vulnerable and unable to help herself.

Here she was, strolling down the roads not knowing where she was or where she was going. What was worst was that she had absolutely no money with her, so renting a room and buying food at the moment appeared to be her ultimate wish. She'd left her money back with her luggage. Everywhere she went she saw no familiar face and she inwardly yearned and prayed that she would find a Leaf shinobi wandering around, perhaps on a mission.

Her thoughts were disrupted when she felt her body clash against something and she fell down to the ground.

She looked up to see two mischievous-looking adults snickering down at her, their eyes oddly scanning her top to bottom. Since she was taught never to judge others by their appearance, Sakura believed the unfamiliarity of the town had made her go judgmental and she quickly scrambled to her feet. "I-I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going."

"She's a cute one, don't ya think?" the tall, blue-haired one smirked.

The brown-haired one scoffed. "She's alright...I've seen better ones, more developed."

Sakura's eyes narrowed in annoyance. Great, just great. As if things hadn't couldn't get any worse, she just had to encounter two perverted men who stood before her talking about her looks. "Er, well, I'm going to go...uh, bye."

She whirled away from the men but before she could take a step further, an arm was placed on her left shoulder and Sakura resisted the urge to turn around and deliver a punch at whoever had dared to touch her. She shifted her position and found herself facing the two men. She attempted to sound as innocent and polite as ever. "Yes?"

"You don't think we're just gonna let you go like that, do ya?" the blue-haired one tightened his grip on her shoulder, but not enough to hurt her. After all, she was too powerful for them.

"She's not my type," the other one began, "but I bet boss will like her."

Sakura stared up at the man who was gripping her shoulder, determination and ferocity in her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I really should leave now." And with that, she gathered the chakra to her own hand and effortlessly ended the blue-haired man's hold on her. She turned to walk away.

"You're not getting away!" he growled, stepping forward to try and grab hold of her. This time he missed her shoulder and grabbed the neck of her kimono, yanking her backwards.

She knew at this point that they would never let her go without a fight and she instantly jolted around, immediately channeling the chakra to her own fist and sending a punch right into his stomach. He flew back a great distance until he collided into a wall. Sakura glowered at the remaining member, the brown-haired one.

He gaped at his comrade's fall but when he turned to met Sakura's eyes, he was determined to put up a strong facade. He launched himself at her, throwing a weak punch in her direction. Sakura easily evaded it but stepping to the side and once she found an opening, her own fist clashed against his body and he was thrown back. He crashed into a line of empty barrels.

A light turned on in the house which the barrels had been beside.

Sakura watched as a middle-aged woman emerged from the house, glancing around between Sakura and the enemy. A feeling of thankfulness and relief washed over Sakura as she was glad that someone had come to her rescue.

But then she pointed her index finger at Sakura and let out a piercing scream.

At this, Sakura could see random lights flicking on inside the houses around her and it wasn't long before the doors opened to revealed many different people. "Miss, please calm down."

"What's going on? Are you a shinobi?" an old man asked, examining Sakura.

"Ah, yes, there's no need to fear anything because I-"

"Because she beat us up!" the blue-haired man had gotten up on his feet. "We were just walking around and then she decided to start killing people and we were unlucky she chose us as her first victim!"

"What!" Sakura exclaimed. "That is not true! You're the one who-"

"It's true!" the brown-haired man struggled to get up, his hand clutching his stomach where she had punched him. "She's here to destroy the village and she wanted to start by killing us. Damn bitch shinobi!"

Sakura could only look around in disbelief at the villager's startled look; a chatter had broke out among them. "I am not here to destroy the village! I am a Konoha shinobi, more specifically the apprentice of the Hokage, and I am on a mission. I am simply passing through, nothing more."

"How could such a woman become Hokage..." someone muttered. "She owes this village much money."

_'...damn you, Tsunade-shishou...'_

"Where is your forehead protector if you're a good shinobi?" a random voice from the crowd asked.

"Well, it's-" she was about to point to her head when she realized that she had also let her forehead protector with her regular clothes back at the other town. "I forgot it in another town."

"Lies!" a middle-aged man scream. "They were right, she _is_ here to destroy us!"

"No! I am telling the truth! I really left it-" she started but never was given the chance to finish.

"Damn shinobi!"

"They're all out to destroy us! Just because they have their damn jutsus they think they can do whatever they want!"

"Monster!"

"Evil!"

"Demons!"

"No! I...I..." her strong, confident and loud voice had lowered into a weak whisper. "I'm really telling the truth..."

Unfortunately for Sakura, she had no evidence to back her up and she could only stand there as random fingers were pointed in her direction, as various insults and accusations were directed in her way.

"An evil monster with a big forehead!"

She didn't even look up to see who had said it. It had reminded her so much of her younger years, the constant finger pointing and insults, and she couldn't bring herself to face it now. Perhaps this was something she could never escape in her life, and it was at this moment that she began to feel just an inch of how Naruto must had felt so many years ago.

"Look at her pink hair and those weird green eyes."

"_Pink hair and green eyes, no one normal has that."_

She bit down on her lower lip. How could she convince the villagers that she was innocent? How could she prove to them that she was merely on a mission? She noted to herself that when she returned, she would force Tsunade to pay all debts _and_ make sure that civilians of the Fire Country make peace with shinobi and stop fearing them.

"Don't forget the huge forehead!"

"_Forehead Girl!"_

"_Ugly Forehead!"_

She had thought that she had gotten over it, moved on from the daily insults and bullying. Yet here she was, the tears stinging her eyes as she forced them not to fall, and when she felt a rock thrown her way and hit her legs, her eyes blinked and the tears fell. She looked up at the villagers only to be met with their hatred stares, and unable to continue gazing at them she channeled the chakra to the feet and sped out of the vicinity.

She wondered why things would always turn out this way.

She was the Hokage's apprentice, and a prized one at that. However, she didn't know why she would always screw things up. It seemed to her that failure was her curse and it would follow her anywhere and everywhere she went.

Years ago, she failed at becoming the perfect kunoichi: beautiful, intelligent and powerful. She failed at being strong enough to gain her own sensei's attention, and he therefore concentrated on the two males of the team. She failed at beating her rival in the chuunin exams and she failed at stopping Sasuke from leaving the village.

She even failed to treat her own enemy as an enemy.

And now she failed as what the Hokage's treasured apprentice was supposed to be: the perfect kunoichi.

Her mistake was that she fought those two perverted men. No...her mistake was wandering off alone in the village...but wait, she couldn't stay with her enemy. Therefore her mistake was not being able to save herself...no, it was that she left her forehead protector with her clothes when she needed to dress up as a regular civilian...or could it be when she went on the mission...?

Or could it be even earlier than that?

Clink.

Splash.

Seconds later, Sakura found her petite body clash against the wet ground – she had been so deep in thought, her mind so clouded, she had forgotten where she was running off to and had tripped over an empty can on the ground. Somewhere during her escape from the angry neighborhood, it had begun to rain. Perfectly fitting for the moment, she believed.

The mud stained her peach kimono and her slender fingers struggled to lift herself from the ground. Determined to stay strong, she lifted her head to look ahead instead of keeping her head down, staring at the ground like how she had been for a while.

Her mistake...

As if her eyes hadn't met the ultimate darkness, there, in the center of her vision, stood a lone figure. His black cloak made it seem as though somewhere in that darkness, there was a blackness of nothing.

...must have been...

The only thing that allowed for a person to realize it wasn't a blackness of nothing was the pattern of red clouds that adorned his cloak and his blonde hair.

...letting him live.

She knew who he was, but she couldn't bring herself to admit it until he shifted in his position and slowly turned around to face her. Those same sapphire eyes she had seen all night, the ones that accompanied her atop the back of a huge clay bird.

_Him._

Oddly enough, she didn't feel the hatred necessary to bring herself to lunge at him and make him pay. Instead she couldn't help but feel a slight hint of relief.

In this place where she had turned back to her young, fragile self, where she was something she knew she wasn't, where she relived her own painful memories and felt lost in a never ending maze in search of her identity she knew that at least...

At least he stood out from everything else and acted as a reminder of who she truly was.

At least someone knew her.

At least someone had found her.

And that was all she needed to know before allowing herself to fall down, the mud splattering on her cream face.

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**Senko: **I think this chapter was kind of short...but, well, I planned out the events for every single chapter...and this just so happens to be all the events in this chapter XD until next time! 

Oh, one last thing...I've been wondering...is it "blond" or "blonde"? o.o; because this thing I'm using to type with is telling me "blonde" is wrong but I think "blonde" is right.


	5. Chapter 5

**Senko:** Well, I've gotten many responses concerning the terms "blonde" and "blond" from it being french/english to being male/female. Eh...and after much thinking, I'm going to use "blonde" because I don't know why o.O;

Unfortunately, I am in a rush to get this done and right now I am typing this in my teacher's assistance class period. I am unable to reply to any reviews.

Many thanks to Silent **Kunoichi aka. Fiona, Megan Of The Sand, ayane04, MoonIdiot, Rain Yimiko Natsuya, koobabear, InuKeifer, Lanny9000990009, Heartless Ghostie, LadySakuraForest, JenKonoha, Icecream Skittles Addict, Thalia, LitoxShorty, Bishieluver01, glittergal92, Akito Udahare, Seoshi-Alina** and **black55widow** for reviewing.

And super thanks to my beta-reader **alphadale**! ;)

**Disclaimer:** Me no own. Duh.

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Chapter 5

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There was a shuffling noise from outside of the room and when he heard the door creak open, Tobi looked up from where he sat (on the windowsill, where most of the Akatsuki member fit so perfectly sitting on) to see none other than his partner walking through the door. "Oh! Deidara-senpai! Welcome back and...what...is that?"

Deidara set the pink-haired kunoichi's small body down on his bed, thankful that the mud had dried and wouldn't stain the bed sheets. But a dirty kimono could still ruin his bed and he hoped she wouldn't move around too much and spread the dirt. "Someone. If she agrees to help with this mission, then you can have time off and go chase butterflies or whatever, yeah."

"Of course! Tobi is a good boy," he chirped. "Tobi will do what Deidara-senpai says."

Inwardly, Deidara wondered if his orange-masked partner understood the definition of sarcasm and the meaning of a joke.

* * *

The last thing she remembered was having fallen unconscious against a hard ground, but yet here she was lying on something soft and comfy. For a while she let herself relax until the question of where she was and how she got there occurred to her. Her eyes snapped open and she jolted upwards from the bed.

"Awake, yeah?" said a familiar voice.

She turned her head to the source of the voice to be met with a blonde sculptor sitting on the windowsill molding clay. The rays of the sun that beat against his skin told her that it was daytime. She vaguely recalled the night before and although she knew it must have been him who had taken her here, as a kunoichi she felt alarmed and cautious.

"What am I doing here?" she asked, eying him suspiciously as though he had kidnapped her even when she knew he had no use for her enough to want to kidnap her anyway. "What do you want?"

There was a silence in the room until Deidara let his clay explode in a small flash and he finally brought himself to tell _it_ to her. "I can take you back to Konoha, yeah."

Her eyes blinked in surprise and she almost gasped at what he said, but her mouth had only gone as far as being slightly parted. A part of her was screaming that he was in actuality a generous man, but a larger part of her countered and said that there were strings attached to this offer. She forced herself to continue viewing him as a sly, powerful Akatsuki member. "What's the catch?"

He chuckled, getting off the windowsill and walking over to her until he reached the opposite edge of the bed and took a seat there. "Smart, yeah?"

"I'm not telling you anything about Naruto or the Leaf," she sent a fierce stare his direction.

"I never said it's about the Kyuubi or the Leaf, yeah," he answered, returning her stare with a presumptuous gaze.

"I'm not killing anything or anyone."

"Don't worry, _I'll_ do all the killing, yeah," he smirked.

At this, she abruptly leaned forwards slightly, glowering at him. "What! How dare you! You're just going to go around and kill?! Do you not have a sense of morality?!"

"Calm down, yeah! Geez..." he sighed. "I never said I was going to kill random people, yeah. I just need help with something. Man, women are so damn complicating and annoying...yeah."

She then relaxed, feeling relieved but at the same time embarrassed that she had accused him of something. She couldn't deny that at this moment, she had just been to him how the villagers were to her last night. For all he had done for her, she should at least have faith in him. "What is it then?"

"Nothing much," he said, flopping down on the bed so that he was now lying on one side of the bed while she sat on the other side. "There's a man who's been hiring some rogue shinobi, yeah. They aren't too strong but they are experienced. My mission is to find out the man's plans...yeah. And if he's going to interfere or pose as a threat to Akatsuki's goal then I am to kill him."

"Then how do I fit into this?" she questioned.

She could see a small smirk creep onto his face before he replied. "Well, if I go up to him and asked what his plans were, I doubt he would tell me, yeah."

"And?"

"You see, from what I gathered yesterday...he likes girls, yeah."

She wasn't sure what he meant by this and thus decided to joke. "I know it must be hard for you to accept that fact that there are some _heterosexual_ people out there."

That statement earned her a glare from the Akatsuki member before he continued. "I meant, he_ likes _girls...and that's why you must go out there and be your super pretty little self to get me the information I need, yeah. Hard, no?"

"Did you just call me...pretty?" Sakura asked, blinking in disbelief. The only other people who had ever said such a thing were Naruto and Lee, but somehow she never felt the need to be affected by their compliments. It was as if from them, such words were normal. Yet when it came from others, it was such a surprise to her.

He scoffed. "No, I said you had to _be_ super pretty, yeah...which I know will be of much difficulty to you but I believe you can be, if not more, at least decent looking."

She should have known better than to think that he, an _Akatsuki _member, would see anything else about her other than her kunoichi status. _'Damn stupid clay guy...didn't have to be so mean.'_

"No harm at all, right?" he spoke, stealing her attention away from her thoughts. "And after we're done, I'll return you to the Leaf and we forget everything, yeah. Continue on with our lives, yeah."

Sakura's jade orbs stared at the blonde man for a while, studying him. He was Akatsuki and she knew for a fact that fairness and generosity were words that were forbidden and excluded from the description of Akatsuki. "Why are you so...so..."

"So what?" he asked.

"So...I don't know!" she exclaimed in frustration. "You're Akatsuki! Why are you being so fair and nice and stuff?!"

He stared at her briefly for a second or two before replying. "I just think that sparing your life will benefit me in the future, yeah. Don't get any odd ideas. So is it a deal?"

_'Hey, at least we're not doing any killing right?' _her inner self said. _'Just get it over with and then we can go back to our regular lives.'_

_'Hmm...I suppose,' _she answered, sighing. "Alright. I'll help you but..."

"But?"

"W-Well..." she began. "I really don't want to be seen, you know...associating with or being near Akatsuki. What if people get the wrong idea? You know, I _am_ a Leaf shinobi and my forehead protector doesn't have any line running through it. They'll report me and accuse me of betrayal. I really-"

The door swung open and an all too cheerful Tobi jumped in. "Deidara-senpai! Tobi has returned and-"

"Get out, Tobi," Deidara growled. "And you can have that free time thing I told you yesterday, yeah. Now_ out_."

"Okay! Thank you very much, Deidara-senpai!" he beamed, although that orange mask hid any smile he showed, if any. "Tobi shall go chase butterflies like you said!"

The door closed quickly, allowing Deidara's attention to return to the rosette kunoichi sitting by him. "I have an idea."

"What is it?" Sakura asked, watching him rise from the bed and stroll over to the closet. Seconds later, he pulled out an Akatsuki cloak and a straw hat. "No way...I am _not_ wearing that!"

Deidara returned to the bed, throwing the cloak and hat to Sakura. "Man, you're really stupid, yeah. Look at it this way – the hat can cover your pink hair and with the cloak people who know Akatsuki will just assume you're an Akatsuki. It's ironic, yeah, you having such a big head yet there's nothing in there."

"Shut up!" Sakura glowered at the man before her who was chuckling in amusement.

* * *

"Are you sure this is okay?" Sakura asked, her fingers slightly lifting up the long cloak so that she could walk easier. "You need a hat too, right?"

"I don't care, yeah," he answered. "It's just a hat, not like I'm trying to hide my identity from anyone."

The two walked down the busy roads of the town, earning various glances and stares from the villagers because of their odd outfits. They had wasted the entire afternoon and now that it was sunset, Deidara had decided it was time to hunt down the man and commence his mission.

"Well I didn't know that," Sakura remarked in thought. "I always thought that Akatsuki members tried to stay secret and avoid having other people see who they are-"

Sakura stumbled back a couple steps. She hadn't notice that Deidara stopped and she bumped against his back. He turned to face her and reached out his hand, a small lump of clay resting on the palm of his hand. "It's a tracking device, yeah."

Sakura slowly took the clay from him. "Tracking device? For what? Are you scared I'll run away?"

He laughed. "You have nowhere to run, yeah. We'll be separated from this point on. If you see him, focus some chakra into the clay and it'll call to me, yeah. And here..."

He fumbled inside his own Akatsuki robe (fortunately he had kept a spare robe with him, thus he was able to lend Sakura one) and brought out a picture of a man, perhaps around forty years of age, with dark hair. Sakura took the picture from him and studied it. "Is this the guy?"

"Yeah."

* * *

Sakura wandered aimlessly around the streets of the town. She knew not of where to start and it was now that she envied the clay master – she supposed he must be flying somewhere around the city on that bird of his, or perhaps if he could he would use his clay to look around. She sighed, hating not having any bloodline abilities.

Another unsuccessful moment of searching for her victim had lead thoughts to crawl into her mind. Her slow steps gradually came to a halt and she wondered why she was aiding an S-class criminal again. Yes, she wanted to return to her village. And yes, she wouldn't have to hurt anybody. But she was _helping_ to hurt someone.

If she turned back now, she might be able to reach Konoha again. There would be difficulties, lots of them, but she was a shinobi and shinobis should have been prepared for things like this already, right? As a shinobi, she knew there would be many instances in which she would be trapped and alone, but never should there be one in which she aids her enemy.

_'No, no. He isn't doing something to hurt Konoha,_' a voice from within her said, attempting to persuade her that there was nothing wrong with them aiding Deidara.

_'We're helping the guy who defeated Gaara, the one who might __be harming__ Naruto in the future…' _she argued, taking slow steps to behind her search again.

Sakura let out a deep breath, feeling tired of everything.

Crash.

Thump.

A loud shouting voice erupted and was soon mixed with a feminine sob. Sakura stopped her walking again and, feeling curious, she decided to see what was happening inside the restaurant that she was standing in front of. There was a man, no…not _a_ man. There stood _the_ man that she was supposed to find.

_'Hurry and focus the chakra into Deidara's clay thing-ma-jig!' _her inner self screamed, but Sakura couldn't find it in herself to bring out the clay and summon Deidara. Before she entered the restaurant, she took note of the stares that random civilians were giving her. She sighed inwardly before heading into an abandoned and dark alley, slipping off the cloak and hat to be left with her kimono.

When she was done, she went into the restaurant and walked over to a lone table near the corner and took a seat, hoping to hear her victim's conversation.

Two young and rather attractive females rested on each of his arms while there was a woman on the ground crying. "Get out of my face."

Her sobs only grew louder as she struggled to get to a standing position. "I-I-I thought you said you liked me."

"I liked many people," he growled, glaring at her. "Now get out of here and I don't want to ever see your disgusting face again!"

Sakura could only watch in pain as the unfortunate woman, young and somewhat pretty, past by her while running out of the restaurant in tears. As she exited, a man entered and Sakura watched as he made his way to her target. The two began to converse but were not talking loud enough for her to hear. She focused the chakra into the small lump of clay before getting up to find a seat closer to her target.

She tried to be as subtle as she could, but stopped in her tracks when her target's eyes caught hers and his lips gradually stretched to form a grin. After a few seconds of quick debate with her inner self, Sakura let out a polite smile in the man's direction.

_'__Where is that blonde psychopath?__!'_ inner Sakura urged.

_'__Hold on, he'll be here eventually-'_

"Why don't you come here and take a seat?" the man called out.

_'Never mind! Go sit down and gather information!'_ the voice ordered.

_'What?'_ Sakura blinked, then frowned. _'No way! It's enough that I'm helping Deidara with finding the man! No extra work!'_

_'Only weaklings take the shortcut! __I'm getting tired of not being able to do anything! We__ must how him we can properly gather information! You don't want to be weak, right?'_

_'…'_

"Why are you just standing there making faces? Well, it is pretty cute so I don't mind," he chuckled.

Sakura nervously stalked over to the edge of the seat and took a seat, her hands folded together on her lap like a timid and adorable schoolgirl.

"You don't look familiar," he said, his eyes studying her. "I'm sure had I seen youbefore, I would remember such beauty. Are you new here?"

Sakura gave off a small polite laughter. "You flatter me, and yes I am new. I am…a tourist."

"I'm Haruke, widely known as the boss of this town since I do have a lot of control and power," he said, an obvious hint of pride present in his voice.

"I'm Sakura," Sakura answered.

"What is such a pretty girl doing all alone here?"

"I…was with some of my companions but I lost them. I came here looking for them," she lied.

"I am in charge of a rather big shinobi business. Would you like some assistance in finding them?"

"I don't want to trouble you-"

"It's no problem at all! And for such a pretty girl, I'll do it for free!"

"Haruke-sama is so kind," the girl to his left arm purred, earning a chuckle from Haruke.

"What did your companions look like?" he asked.

"Uhm…" Sakura began, "three boys and a girl…one with dark hair that looks gay, one with dark hair in a ponytail, one who is rather plump, and a girl with blonde hair."

"Ah, them! I think I've seen them just recently," he said.

"Really?" Sakura asked in amazement. Although he was her target, he could be of some use too. Maybe he could help her locate them and she can find them!

"Yes, yes," he said. "If you come with me to my headquarters, I can give you a place to stay for the night and order my shinobis to search for them. You can tell my shinobis all about them so that they can find your companions for you in no time."

* * *

Deidara entered the restaurant, looking around to find no trace of pink hair or an Akatsuki cloak. Odd. He had felt the chakra from Sakura and this was where it led him to. Inwardly, he cursed her if she was simply playing a joke on him.

He walked over to the cashier woman. "Excuse me, did a pink-haired girl wearing a large black cloak with red clouds come here?"

"Ah…well, there was a pink-haired girl here just moments ago but she was wearing a kimono," the woman answered.

"Where did she go?"

"She left with a man," the woman answered.

Deidara immediately walked out of the restaurant, cursing Sakura under his breath. _'Damn her! Calling me out here and then leaving with some guy, yeah! Sheez!'_

As he strolled down the streets and passed an alley, he took note of the cloak and hat he had given her. Quickly he took the clothing and sighed at her stupidity. _'And she was the one saying she didn't want to be seen when she throws away my cloak and hat, yeah?!'_

* * *

"Here is tea," the young maid said, setting down two cups of tea on the wooden coffee table. She immediately scrambled out of the room, leaving Sakura with Haruke.

For a moment they sat in silence until Haruke spoke. "Go ahead and have some tea; there's nothing with it. It's good."

She hadn't even considered the possibility of the tea being drugged, but now that he had mentioned it she was curious. She reached out and took the cup of tea, bringing it cautiously to her. It was at moments like these in which she felt grateful for having learned all about medicine and drugs from her shishou.

Trying to hide her actions as well as possible, Sakura quickly sniffed the tea. She recalled the training she had received from Tsunade about detecting poisons and drugs. There seemed to be nothing unusual about the tea. Perhaps she was thinking too much. Feeling Haruke's eyes on her, Sakura took a quick sip of the tea as to not appear impolite. She knew only drugs from Tsunade could fool her, so if the drink was drugged she should be able to notice it immediately.

"What do you think about this room?" he asked. "If you like it, you may sleep here tonight and tomorrow I can have some of my shinobis help you search for your companions."

"I like this room," Sakura answered, "and thank you so much for your generosity."

"Anything for a beautiful girl such as yourself," he chuckled, and as much as this comment freaked her out, Sakura forced a small smile.

"Are you tired yet?" he asked.

"Yes, I think I would like to rest now…" her sentence drifted to an end. She was tired. Abnormally tired.

He shifted form the couch he was sitting on to hers and Sakura scooted to the side a little to gain as much space between them as possible. "Perhaps you should rest now."

When she felt his rough hands lay on her hip, Sakura jolted up from her seat. Immediately, she focused her chakra to her hand and attempted to draw out the drug as quickly as possible.

Haruke slowly stood from the couch, a mischievous grin adorning his face. "Foolish girl, you can't possibly heal yourself form drugs that _the_ great Sannin Tsunade made!"

"Tsunade?! How can you get such drugs from her?!"

"That's what I love about medic-nins," he laughed, walking over to her and harshly pulling off her obi (1). "They'd go to the extreme to develop the correct potions for the right price, and they'd make the perfect sleeping potions for an insomniac patient - completely odorless and tasteless."

Holding her kimono together clumsily, Sakura dashed to the opposite corner of Haruke. She struggled to keep her eyes open, cursing her shishou silenly for having such deadly potion-making skills, but her eyes soon began to betray her.

Drowsiness was consuming her and her eyes lids were as heavy as ever. As Haruke drew closer to her, she backed away until she was stopped by the wall. She tried to gather the chakra to her hands and punch him, but the sleepiness ruined her control and he only fell back a few feet when punched.

He got up again, a glare directed at Sakura as he growled. "You _bitch_."

He immediately made his way to her and roughly pulled her flimsy kimono from her hands, exposing her front as she fell to the ground. Sakura couldn't help but desire sleep, and a small portion of her wanted to give up this fight. When he crouched down and pulled her up slightly by her hair, Sakura squinted her eyes awaiting his action.

But the sound of a crashing window and breaking glass caught both their attentions.

In a flash, a kunai was held to Haruke's throat and Sakura could slightly see the blonde strands of hair from the figure behind Haruke.

It was then that she allowed for herself to succumbed to sleep.

She found it ironic that the man she wasn't supposed to fear so much had become a great fear to her, and the man she was supposed to hold great fear for had become her savior.

-

-

* * *

**Senko:** I apologize for the late update; I was busy with school and I had writer's block :D I really didn't want this near-rape scene in my story because it was rather hard to write, but I _need _this scene for the next chapter. Anyway, Happy Halloween everyone! I meant for this to be finished yesterday but…I, er, instead colored a SasoSaku picture. Speaking of pictures…

This is my fourth Halloween treat for everyone! ;)

First treat: chapter 10 of "The Other Uchiha"

Second treat: http:// animesenko. deviantart. com/ art/ PeinSaku-A-Painful-Love-68445086

Third treat: http:// animesenko. deviantart. com/ art/ Sasori-s-Living-Doll-68647062

Last treat: This update.

(1) I don't know if it's possible to do that to an obi, but I can imagine it in my mind LOL

Enjoy your Halloween! And stay safe and get lots of candies! ;)


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